The Peterite forwards made a huge difference in gameplay as St. Peter's remain unbeaten
A late try in the 66th minute by Peterite scrum half Jason Karunarathne secured a thrilling 20 points to 14 victory for his team in their Singer Schools Rugby A division league fixture against Isipathana College at Havelock Park this evening.
St Peter’s collected their points from 3 tries, 1 conversion, and 1 penalty while Isipathana responded with a try, a conversion and 3 penalties.
Both teams came into this game with an unbeaten tag with the winner of the tie tipped to secure pole position in the group. The visitors kicked off the game attacking the BRC end but it was Isipathana who managed to make a few telling breaks which saw them earn an early penalty in the 3rd minute. Skipper Manilka Rubeyru slotted through the straightforward penalty as Isipathana took an early lead. (IC 03 – SPC 00)
The lead, however, lasted only a mere 5 minutes as the Peterites came back storming into Isipathana territory with their forwards and backs working in tandem. The hosts in desperation were guilty of conceding repeated penalties and the Referee H.P Weranga was had no option but to show yellow to Isipathana’s Fly half Anjana Kulasekara in the 8th minute. Full Back Shehan Liyanapathirana put over the resulting penalty with little fuss to equalize the scores. (IC 03 – SPC 03)
Isipathana to their credit struck back once again 3 minutes later through the boot of their skipper Manilka Rubeyru who fired across a brilliant penalty, way out from 45 meters. (IC 06 – SPC 00)
A minute later, there was parity between the teams as St.Peter’s too were reduced to 14 men after Janidu Fernando was given the marching orders for tackling an Isipathana player in the air. It was the Peterites who took over the lead next thanks to a try through their hardworking prop Julian Charles. A mistake at the line-out by Isipathana gave away possession to their opponents who didn’t need a 2nd invitation. A few hits and shoves later, Charles managed to barge over for the try which went unconverted. (IC 06 – SPC 08)
The tense atmosphere boiled over to the stands as play was halted for a short while in the 25thminute due to crowd trouble. The resumption saw the Peterites double their lead and once again it was Julian Charles who added finishing touches from close range barging through for a try. Liyanapathirana was accurate with the conversion to put his team in front by 9 points. (IC 06 – SPC 15)
The hosts, however, came back all guns blazing during the final moments in the 1st half but couldn’t find an opening against a splendid Peterite cover defense. Isipathana’s efforts did earn them a penalty within kicking range which Manilka put over and cut the deficit to just 6 points as the teams went into halftime.
HALF TIME: ISIPATHANA 09 – ST.PETER’S 15
With the rain expected in the 2nd half, Isipathana opted for a different approach that saw them kick and chase while trying to play a territorial game. Isipathana looked a tad better than they were in the 1st half and their pragmatic approach saw them getting the better of their opponents and the “Green machine” hit back in the 42nd minute through a stunning try finished off by winger Ramitha De Silva. No.08 Ravindu Anjula made a thundering run down the right flank, evading several Peterite defenders before offloading it to De Silva who added the finishing touches. Skipper Rubeyru was unsuccessful with the conversion but the score put the game on a knife-edge. (IC 14 – SPC 15)
Both teams tried their best to counter the punch their opposition threw at them but neither team managed to trouble the scoreboard. The heavy downpour too made things life difficult for the players with both teams making knock-ons aplenty. It took until the 66th minute for the next scoring to be done as the Peterites scored a stunning try initiated inside their own half. Fullback Liyanapathirana ran ahead before the punting the ball forward. Isipathana’s winger Nadeen Basik who initially did well to cover the ground misjudged the bounce of the ball which popped loose amid several players from both teams who tried to secure possession. In the end, it was scrum-half Jason Karunarathne who seemed to be at the right place at the right time to collect the loose ball and score mid left much to the joy of their supporters. Liyanapathirana missed the conversion but the Peterites had the composure to see off the remaining few minutes and secure a vital victory that also kept their unbeaten tag intact.
It was quite unfortunate that there were ugly incidents that marred the good game as both the referee and his assistant were subjected abuse and assault by several frustrated supporters.
FULL TIME: ISIPATHANA 14 – ST.PETER’S 20
- ThePapare.com Player of the Match: Jason Karunarathne (SPC)
- Referee: H. P Weranga
Score Breakdown: Isipathana 14 (09) – 1T, 3P
Tries: Ramitha De Silva
Penalties: Manilka Rubeyru (3)Score breakdown: St.Peters 20 (15) – 3T, 1C, 1P
Tries: Julian Charles (2), Jason Karunarathne
Conversions: Shehan Liyanpathirana (1)
Penalties: Shehan Liyanpathirana (1)Yellow Cards: Anjana Kulsekara (IC), Shenol Shenelka (SPC)
